| Getting Your Mix Ready For Mastering |
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THE STEREO OUT (MAIN OUT)
No plug-ins should be applied to your stereo out (main out). No compressing, limiting, spectral enhancing, etc. It’s our job to apply the necessary amount needed. If you apply too much of anything (and most do) we won’t be able to get your mix to sound the best it can.
PEAK LEVEL
The loudest part of your song (peak level) should be around -3db to -5db (below 0 level). A little more or less is fine. Note - Sometimes songs that peak at 0 level are fine, if it’s a quick hit (drum, hi hat, etc.) that’s peaking. But it’s better to submit below 0 level mixes to begin with, since there’s really no benefit for you to come in hot.
The reason we need the level lower than 0, for example, is because if a song requires a frequency boost and phase correction, it can’t be done if you’re already at 0 level. We can’t boost or phase correct anything! You’re already maxed out.
We get so many over level submissions, I've decided to show graphics of what your .wav/.aif file should look like.
 This .wav file peaks at -6db. A little low but just fine. We can work with this.
 This .wav file peaks at -3db. This is great.
 This .wav file peaks at 0db, but is fine because there are no distorted flat
spots in the wave. The high hats are hitting at 0db and everything else drops down, leaving good dynamic range. We can work with this.  This .wav is +3db over level. All the flat spots you see are distortion. You can't
just jack up your levels past 0 and distort everything to make your song louder. It doesn't work that way. Do not submit a file that looks like this.  Once a week, we actually get at least one file (or entire CD) that looks like
this! Let's call this the "trainwreck file." +6db over level and totally distorted from beginning to end. We can't do anything with this. No one can!  above, gained down -9db. It's completely distorted, but its -3db under 0 level. We can't use this either. Once your song is distorted and over level, you can't just gain it down. All you're doing is making a distorted file quieter. You have to be under 0 level on the stereo out, and on all the mixer board channels when outputting the original .wav file. Unfortunately, many times the recording studio gives you the "trainwreck" file and you're stuck with it. Gaining it down yourself does nothing. HEADROOM (DYNAMIC RANGE)
As a song plays, the output meter constantly goes up and down. Headroom (dynamic range) is the area between the peak level (when the meter is up) and the low level (when the meter is down). Roughly, 3db to 5db of movement between the high and low meter level is good, but this depends on the genre of music. With a compressed/limited or “over” 0 level mix, the meter will not go up and down more the 1db, if any.
The reason we need headroom is because compressed/limited and over 0 level mixes already have music content removed from them, which greatly limits what we can do with the song. It would be comparable to a woman going to a hair stylist with 3 inches of hair. The stylist would be “very” limit with what she could do.
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